Stone walls make a prison
by whore-sama
Summary: "I am such a loser" "Yes, you are… What's your name again?" "Ughh" Althea is completely lame, in the best way a person can be. Sirius Black is completely awesome, in every way. Alice is afraid of the dark and James is still in love with Lily and the world is still round. 1976 was bound to be an interesting year. (Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.)


**Stone walls make a prison**

Summary: "I am such a loser" "Yes, you are… What's your name again?" "Ughh" Althea is completely lame, in the best way a person can be. Sirius Black is completely awesome, in every way. Alice is afraid of the dark and James is still in love with Lily and the world is still round. 1976 was bound to be an interesting year.

Author's Note: I do not encourage Althea's behavior, she's a lame bitch please do not try to be like her, she's trash –like her creator (good character though, i think). Lots of Love! Enjoy the story :)

By the way i do love Thea i just don't encourage her attitude toward certain things.

Chapter One: Althea Stone

1976 was totally going to be my year.

I had lost fifteen kilos over the summer, my skin was clear, I had mastered liquid eyeliner and discovered coconut oil. This year nobody was going to get me detention because I had to answer to one of their _uncalled_ remarks about my appearance –most definitely _not_ Amelia Ryder.

Ok, so I admit it, I am self-conscious. How could I not be? I had spent most of my life hearing people tell me how fat I am, and how I should go in a diet, or start exercising, or trying out that new potion "SlimBeauty" that had been announced on Witch Weekly two months prior, because "Boys don't like chubby girls", or "You would be such a beauty if you lost just a little weight". Well, here I am, fifteen kilos lighter, done with listening to people's shit for so many years, and very hungry.

I will admit that my weight loss technique is NOT recommendable , and I do NOT encourage it, but hey, everyone's got a breaking point, and mine was my mum buying me a year-long supply of diet pills. It's not that I had a personal problem with the way I looked, I actually thought I was pretty damn cute even before losing weight. I had a problem with the way people perceived me, and the constant criticism I received because _apparently_ a girl can't be fat _and_ happy at the same time.

Oh well, there is not much a girl can accomplish by complaining. So, I did the next worst thing, and started skipping meals. At first it was just because I was too moody or felt too bad to eat, but as I began seeing the results of my self-inflicted starvation, I thought I had finally figured out a way to lose the extra weight. And now here I am, with bad breath and a shitty mood, but hey, at least I'm not fat, right? That's all people seem to care about anyway. I had spent the last three months surviving on diet pills, water and sugar-free candy –with the occasional soup or fruit. Though the candy was more for my breath than for anything else (better have my mouth smelling like peppermint than stomach acid, ew).

But today was going to be a better day, the start of a better year.

The 1st of September, finally going back to Hogwarts and leaving my toxic household, getting to see Alice again (who I had not seen during summer since she had gone to visit her relatives in France), start maybe ingesting solid food once in a while without my mother glancing at me disapprovingly (those house elves cooking skills are _so good_ I swear), staying away from Amelia, since she only seemed to become more of a bitch each passing year, getting good grades (or at least try to get good grades) and working on being happy. Loving myself.

Yeah, this year was going to be great, I could feel it in my bones.

* * *

Alice told me I look like an anorexic cat –which is _not okay_ , so I am _not_ speaking to her.

Really, she could try being a little happier for me. I mean, she knows how much the… name calling (I guess?) bothers me, she's been through it with me ever since first year.

I glared sulkily from my spot next to the window as she petted Hulk (that's my cat, by the way).

"You know, Thea, I didn't think you were fat. You were curvy and soft. When I hugged you just now I could feel your ribs, and honestly, it worries me how fast you lost weight." Alice said looking at me with her worried big brown eyes.

Damn it.

"It's ok, you know. I can eat now that the mother ship isn't around to supervise the development of my rather unhealthy diet. I told you, it's not how _I_ see me, it's how _others_ see me what bothers me. I had no problems with the way I looked before, I swear Alice, and you know it." I said grumpily from my seat.

"But you feel happier with the way you are now, are you not?" she asked me.

I felt a twinge of guilt and I didn't answer. It _was_ nice –occupying less space. I had always had such a big complex about my size during so many years that finally not carrying the weight I had lost felt like an immense relief. I couldn't lie to Alice and tell her the opposite.

She sighed and switched seats so that now she was sitting beside me, earning an angry reprimand from Hulk as he hissed and curled by my feet, glaring at Alice.

"You know I just want you to be ok, right? You worry me with this."

"I know. Everything's ok, I promise." I said looking straight into her eyes.

She stared at me for a while before petting me head.

"Good. You better not be lying. I'll find out if you are." She said, still petting me.

Sometimes I think I understand how a dog must feel.

"Where's Frank, anyway?" I asked, changing the subject. After all, Alice always did like talking about Frank (damn lovebirds).

"He's at the prefect meeting. It usually lasts until the middle of the train ride, so it will still be a while until he comes." She said.

Ah, yes. I almost forgot Frank Longbottom was actually serious about school –hence a prefect. You would have thought Remus Lupin would have made prefect, being all brainy and polite and handsome and everything else, but I guess hanging with the Marauders and getting as many detentions as the rest of them did didn't look good on the academic record of a prefect.

Frank did get along with them, though. The Marauders, that is, but he was careful to not get involved in their infamous pranks. Turning the Slitheryn table's pumpkin juice into laxative potion was not exactly something you would want to be associated to.

Not that I would have minded. It's not like I was a devoted student anyway, and any chance to be close to a group of three fit teenage boys and their socially awkward but admittedly funny friend was welcome in my book.

I mean, it's not like it was ever going to happen. I was the awkward girl with funny hair that was friends with Frank's girlfriend. Not exactly no one, but not exactly someone. To them, that is.

Oh, talking about hair.

"Hey Alice, check it out" I said as I removed my usual beanie and let my now shampoo-advertisement-hair loose.

"Whoa" she said as the touched my strands "So soft. So shiny. What potion are you using? It must be great, you hair was awful last term, no offense."

"No offense. No potion. Coconut oil." I said, looking at her with seriousness so that she understood the holy information I was providing her with.

"Yes."

"Yes." I replied.

* * *

"Sirius Black is so hot" I said to Alice during dinner "You could crack a nut between his asscheeks, that's how tight his bum is."

She stared at me with something not far from disgust as Frank chuckled and then choked with a piece of chicken. Alice quickly slapped him on the back and handed him a goblet of pumpkin juice and made him drink until he recovered from his choking state.

"I never knew you had an interest in Sirius" he said, still smiling.

"I don't. I just appreciate beautiful things. Like Remus Lupin's jawline, that thing could slice a lady, if you get my drift." I said, this time making him choke on his pumpkin juice. Can't blame him, I am the queen of humor.

" _Althea_ " Alice said looking at me disapprovingly.

"Alice" I said, barely containing my laugh myself. Bad humor was so much better when it made someone uncomfortable.

"James" a voice said behind us. We turned to see –would you look at that, the Marauders themselves behind us.

"Hey guys" Frank greeted them, his voice raspy after his several incidents with today's dinner, his eyes still teary (hey, poor guy was choking here).

"What's got you so happy tonight?" James asked as he took a seat beside me and the other Marauders also sat with us.

"We were talking about Thea's view on art" he said.

"How is art funny?" Peter asked, confused as he busied himself with making a food pyramid in his plate –oh, I get you Peter, it's not our fault, it's _the food's fault_.

"You would be surprised" Alice said, still looking at me disapprovingly.

"Won't you enlighten us?" asked James as he ate a spoonful of deliciously creamy and delicately prepared mashed potatoes. Damn, my soup looked so unappealing right now.

"Very tight butts and very sharp jawlines. Of both the masculine and feminine variety, really." I answered truthfully as I served myself some chicken pie, the food of the gods. I love chicken pie.

James spit the water he was drinking and started laughing gleefully –it could have been my words, it also could have been the fact that he had just spit water all over Peter, who was staring mournfully at his now wet food.

Sirius laughed loudly as Peter's disgrace and Remus took pity on James' victim and emptied his wet plate with a flick of his wand.

"Thanks" Peter murmured sadly as he began placing food on his plate once again.

Oh, I understand your pain, Peter, I really do.

"Thea's the kind of girl who speaks her mind, you see." Alice said "She just lacks the filter between her brain and her tongue sometimes."

I stuck out my tongue at her as I took a bite of my pie.

There were angels in my taste buds I was tasting glory, heaven is real, food is my friend, not my enemy.

"She's a good laugh as far as I can tell." James replied, still gleeful "Nothing better than honesty."

Yes, James, _I am_ a good laugh. See Alice? Some people appreciate humor in this school.

Alice just rolled her eyes and focused on finishing her dessert (a delicious looking and probably highly caloric chocolate pudding, in case you were wondering).

I on the other hand, had a date with Mr. Chicken Pie. I should have taken a chance to admire Remus' jawline closely, as he was sitting close to me (staring at Sirius' butt was not an option, since he was currently using it to sit and eat dinner) but not having consumed solid food in three months was getting me crazy and instead I focused on slowly eating and savoring my pie, uninterrupted. The Marauders, unsurprisingly, didn't talk to me much (though I understand they would talk much to a girl that looked like she was in love with a slice of chicken pie) and dinner went on uneventfully.

Alice did give me an earful on censoring my mouth before bed, though. I don't think it was because I make a fool of myself as much as the fact that she gets embarrassed easily but oh well.

This year was going to be great, great doesn't get censored (as much as I love Alice).

Peace out,

Althea Stone.


End file.
